A majority of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation employees did not report to work on Tuesday, even though the last trade union linked to the ongoing strike announced its withdrawal from the deal, while the MSRTC managed to operate nearly 3,000 buses during the day, officials and union leaders said.
An MSRTC official said that out of the total 93,226 employees of the corporation, 20,935 reported to duty, a day after the Maharashtra Rajya Kanishtha Vetanshreni ST Kamgar Sanghatana, a lesser known union, announced an end to the strike, which started in late October and called for a merger of the loss-making transport body with the state government.
After Sanghatana's decision, no other trade union is now involved in the nearly two-month old strike. On Tuesday, a senior official said they were able to run more buses than the previous day. The MSRTC operated 2,963 buses until 6 pm compared to 2,916 buses on Monday.
An MSRTC spokeswoman said as a result of a discussion between transport minister Anil Parab and the leaders of the union, the corporation has issued a circular withdrawing disciplinary actions, such as suspension, transfer, dismissal and termination of employees during the strike period if they are re-joining duty by December 22 and 23. Since October 28, a majority of MSRTC employees are on strike, which was intensified in November. The agitating employees are seeking a merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government for better salaries and other benefits.
Ajaykumar Gujar, president, Maharashtra Rajya Kanishtha Vetanshreni ST Kamgar Sanghatana, announced on Monday his union's withdrawal from the strike after a meeting with Parab, and later told media persons that the employees will resume duty by December 22. After the meeting, the government had told the media that it was ready for a discussion with the union about its demand for MSRTC employees to get salaries at par with state staffers. Both the minister and Gujar had agreed to accept whatever verdict the Bombay High Court gives on the merger demand.
The MSRTC has a fleet of more than 16,000 buses, which is one of the biggest public transportation corporations in the county. The loss-making corporation used to ferry over 65 lakh passengers daily before the epidemic. The 55 day long strike has left the corporation financially bleeding while the passengers are going through a lot of hardship.